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When the nonadaptive aspects of craniofacial configuration are the basis for assessment, the Somalis cluster with Europeans before showing a tie with the people of West Africa or the Congo Basin.
As our data show, the people of the Horn of Africa are craniofacially less distinct from a spectrum of samples marginally including South Asia and running all the way from the Middle East to northwest Europe than they are to any group in sub-Saharan Africa.
Brace et al. "Clines and clusters versus 'Race:' a test in ancient Egypt and the case of a death on the Nile". Am J Phys Anthro, 1993.
The most distinct separation is between African and non-African populations. The northeastern-African — that is, the Ethiopian and Somali — populations are located centrally between sub-Saharan African and non-African populations.
The fact that the Ethiopians and Somalis have a subset of the sub-Saharan African haplotype diversity — and that the non-African populations have a subset of the diversity present in Ethiopians and Somalis — makes simple-admixture models less likely; rather, these observations support the hypothesis proposed by other nuclear-genetic studies (Tishkoff et al. 1996a, 1998a, 1998b; Kidd et al. 1998) — that populations in northeastern Africa may have diverged from those in the rest of sub-Saharan Africa early in the history of modern African populations and that a subset of this northeastern-African population migrated out of Africa and populated the rest of the globe.
+ 13 = Somalis
• 1-7 = Sub-Saharan Africans (Negroid)
• 8-11 = Sub-Saharan Africans (Khoisanid)
Δ 22-25 = Caucasoids (N. Europe and Mid-East)
Tishkoff et al. "Short Tandem-Repeat Polymorphism/Alu Haplotype Variation at the PLAT Locus: Implications for Modern Human Origins". Am J Hum Genet, 2000.


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Hi everyone!
Last Wednesday, my Precollege class took a trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Despite the fact that the subways were the equivalent of a sauna, I had an amazing time.
The purpose of our field trip was to get inspired by the designer Charles James by looking at some of his work. After looking at many of his beautiful designs we were to design an inspiration board that would help a perfumer to decipher what type of smell we would want our perfume to have. Walking into the costume exhibit to look at some of Charles James' designs was a little overwhelming. He had so many beautiful and elegant designs I was in love.
After leaving the museum my partner and I decided that since Charles James designed many dark and sophisticated gowns our perfume should have an "elegant nighttime" feel to it. In the end we decided we would have to incorporate amber, lavender and a floral smell to make the perfume have that perfect elegant, girly feel to it.
When we were at the museum I took pictures of my favorite dresses to share with you all and I will also add in a picture of our finished inspiration board.
"In fashion even what seems most fragile must be built on cement" ~ Charles James
Until next time,

subset: commoncrawl


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Published on Urinary system.
Uraemia is a condition that indicates excess urea in the blood. Urea is a substance that kidneys have to dispose of. If it is found in the blood, it indicates the kidneys are not working properly as they did not get rid of what they should. This condition shows the person is experiencing difficulty filtering correctly.
See Kidneys – renal insufficiencykidneys – cancer and cysts#.


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Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
PITTSBURGH (AP) - Forget the 0-4 start. Forget the remarkable finish, the one that kept the Pittsburgh Steelers in the playoff picture until the final minutes of the regular season.
There's no such thing as partial credit in the NFL.
"We were an 8-8 team," safety Troy Polamalu said.
One that will spend January at home for a second straight year.
Le'Veon Bell ran for 90 yards and a touchdown as the Steelers drubbed the lifeless Browns 20-7 on Sunday, though Pittsburgh's bid to become the second team in NFL history to go winless in September and make the playoffs ended when San Diego edged Kansas City 27-24 in overtime.
"We are going to build on this," quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said. "I think we have put together a good foundation."
One that went 6-2 over the final eight weeks, recovering from a potentially franchise-altering 55-31 loss to New England on Nov. 3 to play perhaps the best football in the AFC by someone not named Denver over the second half.
Or, the exact opposite of what happened in Cleveland, which fired first-year coach Rob Chudzinski hours after the game.
The Browns (4-12) lost their final seven games and 10 of their last 11. Not exactly the step forward new owner Jimmy Haslam was looking for with a roster littered with five Pro Bowl players.
"We needed to see progress with this football team," the Browns said in a statement after firing Chudzinski. "We needed to see development and improvement as the season evolved and, unfortunately, we took a concerning step backward in the second half of the year.
"Our fans deserve to see a consistently competitive team. We have high standards, and there's an urgency for success. When we believed we were not positioned to achieve significant progress in 2014, we knew we had to admit that a change was needed, and move forward."
Chudzinski's players did something after the game they failed to do during it: rally around their coach.
"It's just absurd to me that a report would be out like that, about a good coach like that," Browns linebacker D'Qwell Jackson said. "It's crazy, and that (ticked) me off when I heard that."
Cleveland didn't exactly play angry while letting the Steelers roll to victory for the 26th time in 31 meetings since the Browns were revived in 1999.
Roethlisberger passed for 179 yards and a touchdown against two interceptions as Pittsburgh won its third straight to avoid the franchise's first losing season since 2003.
"Guys just kept fighting," Steelers defensive end Cam Heyward said. "Wasn't anything glorious or something beautiful, we just came out of nowhere."
Jason Campbell completed 23 of 41 passes for 240 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Josh Gordon caught seven passes for 82 yards to finish with an NFL-high 1,646 yards receiving, a first for the franchise. It proved little solace on a wet, miserable day at Heinz Field in which Cleveland looked very much like the same old Browns.
Cleveland was largely noncompetitive over the season's final three months, with seven losses by a touchdown or more, including two to the Steelers by a combined 47-18.
There is no sense of panic in Pittsburgh. A season that appeared teetering on embarrassment after the record-setting loss to the Patriots ended up with a decidedly rosier finish.
The Steelers scored on the opening drive, a 9-yard strike from Roethlisberger to Jerricho Cotchery, and it was more than enough. Whenever the Browns threatened, they found a way to botch it. Twice they failed on fourth-down attempts in Pittsburgh territory and didn't reach the end zone until Campbell found Fozzy Whitaker on a 35-yard pass with 2:46 remaining.
By then most of the attention had turned to the scoreboard, where the biggest roars were saved for scores by the Bengals and Jets, who then won to boost Pittsburgh's playoff chances.
Kansas City nearly did the same, but Ryan Succop missed a 41-yard field goal with 4 seconds left in regulation and San Diego survived.
Still, the Steelers remain convinced better days lay ahead, thanks in part to Bell's rapid development. He broke Hall of Famer Franco Harris' team record for total yards from scrimmage by a rookie by combining for 96 yards in the muck at Heinz Field. Bell finished with 1,259 total yards in just 13 games, 24 more than the mark of 1,235 Harris set in 1972.
Bell's 5-yard touchdown burst in the second quarter, which included a nifty spin move in the backfield, gave the Steelers a 14-0 lead at the break. It capped an 87-yard drive in which he touched the ball 10 times in 14 plays.
That was plenty for a rejuvenated defense that sacked Campbell three times, including a strip fumble by defensive end Brett Keisel, likely playing his final regular-season game of his 12-year career with Pittsburgh.
Despite the outcome, Keisel isn't closing the door on a return.
"I still feel like I can play," Keisel said. "You know, we'll see."
Just not until 2014.
NOTES: Brown caught nine passes for 97 yards to finish with 110 receptions on the season, narrowly missing the club mark of 112 set by Hines Ward in 2012. ... Roethlisberger finished with 4,261 yards passing, the second-highest total in team history to his 4,328 in 2009.
AP NFL website: http://www.pro32.ap.org
(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)


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The Good News guy faces tough questions now
Here's my Mercator.Net story on Francis Collins as new NIH head:
President Obama has chosen an evangelical Christian as the new head of the National Institutes of Health. He is coming under fire from both sides of the culture wars.Go here for more.
[ ... ]
Of course, his advocacy of faith as a public scientist has received mixed reviews, to the point of attracting histrionics about looming "theocracy."
But now that Collins faces confirmation hearings before the Senate, the focus will shift from his persona to his view on issues relevant to his new job. He seems much more relaxed about abortion and human embryonic stem cell research than the average evangelical leader, so it will be interesting to see if he attracts any flak on that account.
Labels: Francis Collins


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Digman, Matthew |
Submitted to: Electronic Publication
Publication Type: Other Publication Acceptance Date: 3/3/2011 Publication Date: 3/18/2011 Citation: Digman, M.F. 2011. Calibrating your grain drill or seeder can save both seed and money. Clippings. (electronic newsletter of Midwest Forage Association) March 18, 2011. Available: http://www.midwestforage.org/pdf/525.pdf.pdf Interpretive Summary: Technical Abstract: The agronomic impact of over-seeding or under-seeding a field is complex. Most farmers have worked out a seeding rate with their agronomist. Exceeding that rate may not be productive, especially at $265+ per bag of alfalfa ($500 for switchgrass). Over-seeding costs add up, even across a small number of acres. If one plans to seed at a rate of 12 lb/acre and actually has a seeding rate of 14 lb/acre, the additional cost becomes a little over $10/acre of extra alfalfa seed. A seeding rate of 16 lb/acre raises the cost $20/acre. However, accurate calibration and proper care of the grain drill will pay important dividends to insure that the correct seeding rate occurs. |


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The desire to stamp out illegal gambling in Portugal seems to have taken a bizarre turn. A group of 28 British and Irish tourists were arrested by Portuguese police for being in a bar where a game of bingo was taking place.
Under Portuguese law any gambling, even bingo, needs to have an appropriate licence. The first game of bingo had concluded when the police swooped on the bar, arresting those present, regardless of whether or not they were actually participating in the game.
The owner of the Yorkshire Tavern is Marianne Pittaway:
"It is crazy, an absolute joke. We were playing bingo for biscuits, chocolate and some alcoholic drinks. There was no money exchanged apart from paying for the ticket. The money we make pays for prizes.
Everyone in the bar who was playing bingo was handed a 300 Euro fine plus a three-month suspended sentence. Those who were in the bar but not playing were given a 150 Euro fine plus a three-month suspended sentence. I was given a €700 fine and a four-month suspended sentence and [partner] António was given a 500 Euro fine and a four-month suspended sentence."
The incident has the potential to be a public relations disaster for the Portuguese tourist industry. While it is reasonable of course for the Portuguese to enforce their laws it is perhaps counter-productive of them to target holiday-makers for such a minor infraction, especially as these are the same tourists who are bringing much needed finance into the local economy.
Portugal is in receipt of 78 Billion Euro EU/IMF/ECB loans following the collapse of its property market. Unemployment in Portugal in the first quarter of 2013 was 17.7%, as reported by the Instituto Nacional de Estatistica.
Scaring tourists away is hardly going to help that number.


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Applying Sutra-Level Guru-Meditation to a Faulty or Abusive Teacher
His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama had two regents during his minority. They taught him extensively and conferred upon him numerous tantric empowerments. They also engaged in a power struggle and had their followers take up arms against each other. His Holiness has explained that on his meditation seat, he had no problem in focusing with conviction on the good qualities that each regent in fact had. He also had no problem in appreciating the kindness that each had shown him. Yet, when he arose from his meditation seat, he publicly denounced his regents' political intrigues. His Holiness has described that he felt no contradiction in doing this and did not find it emotionally upsetting.
Some Westerners face similar situations with several of their spiritual teachers. For example, some famous masters disagree strongly about the status of a controversial Dharma protector and the consequences of propitiating it. They abuse their positions as spiritual mentors and, with threats of hell, forbid their disciples to have anything to do with teachers on the opposite side of the dispute. Other famous masters disagree violently over the identification of the incarnation of the highest lamas of their lineage. A few have even taken police action against each other's claims over inherited property. Sutra-level guru-meditation, as His Holiness the Dalai Lama has experienced, may help traumatized Western Dharma students to deal with these difficult, perplexing circumstances. It may also help those who have been sexually abused by their spiritual teachers or exploited by them for power or money. It may apply as well to disciples of abusive teachers, who have not been personally maligned, but have been devastated by learning of the actions of their teachers.
Many disciples find such situations too difficult to handle, especially if they have already built disciple-mentor relationships with both parties in a dispute. The Abbreviated Kalachakra Tantra advised that if disciples find too many objective faults in their spiritual mentors and they can no longer support close relationships with them, they need not continue studying with these teachers. They may keep a respectful distance, even if they have received highest tantra empowerments from them.
Whether or not we keep a distance from disturbing or abusive teachers, it is important to try to stop dwelling on their perplexing behavior or faults. Obsession with such matters only deepens confusion and spiritual despair. We must begin a healing process. Eventually, without denying the mentors' problematic sides, we may still be able to benefit from thinking about their good qualities and kindness.
Reviewing a Teacher's Faults and Mistakes
Hurt and confused disciples frequently experience emotional blocks in focusing on the good qualities of contentious or abusive mentors. With the passage of time and the help of support groups, they may overcome the manifest emotional fallout from their traumatic experiences. The spiritual damage, however, is often quite deep. Denial or repression of the problem solves very little. For thorough healing, spiritually wounded disciples need eventually to be able to view their mentors' faults and mistakes clearheadedly, free of naivety, anger, or recrimination.
The Fifth Dalai Lama added a preliminary step to the Kadam style of guru-meditation that addresses the problem. Before discerning and focusing on the good qualities and kindness of their mentors, disciples need to bring to conscious awareness the teachers' shortcomings and work on their view of them. The process resembles a surgical procedure. Cleaning an infected wound requires cutting it open, even though lancing the abscess and exposing the infection temporarily increases the pain. In the case of a festering spiritual wound, the hidden infection may be denial or suppressed rage. To purge the infection requires reopening the wound and bringing to the surface what festers beneath, even though the procedure temporarily may bring more emotional pain. The operation must wait, of course, until the injured person has sufficiently recovered from the initial trauma and has regained the emotional strength to attack the problem.
Creating a Protected Mental Space for Addressing Spiritual Wounds
To lance and heal a spiritual wound requires not only that the injured person have sufficient emotional strength. The operation also requires the support of a conducive, protected space; otherwise, the procedure itself may be too traumatic. In guru-meditation, the preliminary practices provide the appropriate mental space to contain and support the sometimes-painful meditation procedure of reexamining our mentors' faults and the way in which we have been viewing them. The preliminaries create the space through reaffirming our safe direction in life, renewing our bodhichitta motivation, and practicing the seven-part invocation directed toward the Buddhas and past and present great masters.
Focusing on the ability of the Triple Gem to provide a safe direction in life – and especially focusing on the Buddhist approach of working on ourselves to overcome the emotional problems we face – helps to reestablish a spiritual anchor. We need such an anchor when we have lost belief in the spiritual path and are drifting in life with no clear direction. Reaffirming the necessity to heal our emotional wounds in order to focus our attention more fully on others in need of assistance helps to revitalize our efforts along the path.
Focusing objectively on the good qualities of the Buddhas and of past and present great masters and showing respect through prostrating and making offerings help to reaffirm our sense of values. Without a sense of values, we will be unable to discern any good points in an abusive teacher. Openly admitting the disappointment and pain that we feel over our mentors' mistakes or failures helps to relieve some of the emotional tightness that may be preventing our further progress. Our mentors may not have lived up to the measure of the Buddhas. However, rejoicing in the good qualities and deeds of past and present great masters helps us to overcome the despondent feeling that qualified mentors do not exist.
Requesting other great masters to teach and not to pass away helps to open our hearts and minds to continuing on the spiritual path. Dedicating to the healing process the positive frame of mind and potential built up by the preliminary practice helps us to complete our construction of a protected, conducive mental space. When practiced with sincere feeling, the preliminaries for guru-meditation help to produce the emotional stability needed to reexamine objectively our mentors' faults.
Examining the Appearances That the Mind Creates
The surgical procedure of the meditation begins with bringing to conscious awareness the flaws of our mentors. Once these are exposed, we need to examine clearheadedly whether our teachers presently continue to have these shortcomings or to make these mistakes. We may be dwelling on past history. To heal, for example, the wounds of abuse, we need to acknowledge whether or not an abusive teacher has admitted and repented previous mistakes and reformed his or her behavior. Such acknowledgement does not excuse the teacher's previous misconduct, but an honest appraisal of the situation requires dealing with all the facts.
Moreover, examining the faults of our mentors requires focusing on shortcomings that they actually have. We need to sort out defects that we may be projecting because of our disturbing emotions or attitudes. Such projection often happens with problems less severe than spiritual abuse. For example, jealousy of other disciples may cause us to imagine that our mentors are ignoring us because of lack of concern for our welfare. In fact, however, our teachers may simply be attending to the needs of all the disciples, without any favorites.
Moreover, we need to discriminate between actual faults, such as unethical behavior, and seeming faults that merely reflect a different way of doing things than our own preferences. People often confuse the two and think that anything they dislike about a teacher is an objective fault with negative consequences. A mentor's style may be inconvenient or inefficient; this may annoy us at times and cause us to lose sight of his or her good qualities. Yet, insistence that a teacher's manner totally match our own dispositions is an unrealistic expectation.
Further, the faults that we focus on need to be relevant to our mentors' ability to guide us on the spiritual path. The fact that our mentors may lack the competence to teach us everything required for becoming a Buddha does not negate their abilities to benefit us at our present stages. Confirming the accuracy, currentness, and importance of the faults that we discern in our mentors enables us to sort out and dismiss distortions and outdated or irrelevant aspects.
Next, we need to examine the process whereby our minds produce and project deceptive appearances. Karmic obstacles from our previous experiences and our psychological profile may cause our minds to make flaws appear in our teachers that accord with our karma, such as that they care nothing for us. Our lack of awareness of behavioral cause and effect and of reality causes us to believe that these appearances are accurate. Moreover, whether or not the appearances are accurate, the deeply engrained habit of viewing things without awareness of reality causes our minds to make the faults we discern appear to exist in ways that do not accord with reality. Our minds make them appear to exist as permanent flaws, inherent and ultimately findable within our spiritual mentors and making them exist as deficient or terrible people, independently of causes, circumstances, and a conceptual framework. Lack of awareness then causes us to believe that our mentors truly exist in these impossible ways.
Guru-meditation does not ask us to deny the accurate conventional appearances of what our mentors' faults or mistakes may be. Our mentors may in fact be too busy to see us whenever we want, or may in fact be abusive. What the meditation asks us to do instead is to refute and dismiss our confused belief in the deeply deceptive appearances of how our mentors have come to exist with the particular faults that they actually have. We need to understand the logical absurdity and thus the impossibility that our mentors have particular flaws by virtue of some permanent, findable, internal defects that by their own powers, independently of anything else, make them inherently tainted people.
Such an understanding allows us to see how our mentors' faults and mistakes have arisen dependently on an enormous number of complex factors. This understanding allows the healing process to occur. It also enables us to ignore, for the moment, the faults that our mentors in fact may have, to focus instead in guru-meditation on their good qualities, and even to derive inspiration from them. We may do this whether we continue to study with them or we decide to keep a distance. If we keep a distance from our mentors, our understanding of how their faults and mistakes have arisen enables us to make that distance a respectful one, and one with which we are at peace.
The Analogy with Contextual Therapy for Victims of Abuse
In Invisible Loyalties, Boszormenyi-Nagy, the Hungarian founder of contextual therapy, suggested sensitive ways to heal the psychological injuries of victims of physical or sexual abuse. The methods he outlined parallel in many ways the approach taken in sutra-level guru-meditation. His analysis may augment our understanding of how the meditation may help to heal the wounds of students deeply hurt by abusive spiritual teachers.
Boszormenyi-Nagy explained that the first step in the healing process is for abuse victims to acknowledge their pain and that they are entitled to feel bad. They have in fact been violated, and for them to deny the truth will only add fuel to suppressed anger or feelings of guilt. Similarly, if we personally have been abused by our spiritual mentors or have learned from reliable sources that our teachers have maligned other students, we too need first to acknowledge our pain and our "entitlement" to feel bad. We were in fact wronged or let down. Guru-meditation may include this acknowledgement as part of its preliminary practice of openly admitting one's difficulties.
Contextual therapy calls next for trying to understand the context in which the abuse arose from both the perpetrators' and the victims' sides. This does not mean to rationalize the faulty behavior or the mistakes in judgement on the perpetrators' parts, nor for the victims to take on the entire blame and to feel guilty. Rather, abuse victims need to see clearly how the situations arose dependently on causes and conditions. The process parallels the conclusion reached in guru-meditation by deconstructing the deceptive appearances that one's mind projects concerning how one's mentor exists with his or her faults.
Victims of abuse also need to acknowledge that they are entitled to a better deal in life. In Buddhist terms, entitlement to happiness comes by virtue of having an innate network of positive potentials as part of Buddha-nature. Nevertheless, abuse victims need to earn that happiness by acting decently. For example, war refugees are entitled, simply as human beings, to homes and a livelihood in host countries. Yet, they need to earn good treatment by following the law and leading upright lives. Similarly, abused spiritual seekers need to reaffirm the necessity of following the guidelines of the Dharma.
Many victims of abuse have negative self-images. Either consciously or unconsciously, they blame themselves for what happened and may feel that they do not deserve better treatment. Even if they feel entitled to better treatment, they may resign themselves to further abuse. A similar pattern often emerges with victims who were told and felt that they were special. During the abusive relationship, an inflated sense of self-worth makes them unaware of being victims of abuse. They often deny the abuse and defend the perpetrators, even if confronted with the facts. Then, when their abusers find other "chosen ones," they feel humiliated, experience sudden deflation of their self-images, and become deeply hurt or completely outraged.
In all such cases, the victims need to dispel their identification with a negative self-image in order to gain or regain emotional stability. The same guideline applies to similar types of abused seekers for gaining or regaining healthy relationships with spiritual teachers. So long as they identify with being unworthy, they continue to open themselves to possible manipulation and abuse.
The next step in the healing process in contextual therapy is determining clearheadedly the legacy that the abuse victims may take from their relationships with the perpetrators. Is it just outrage, bitterness, and an inability to trust anyone else in the future, or can the victims take something more positive from them? The therapy encourages focusing on the positive factors gained from the relationship and discourages dwelling on the negative ones. Such constructive focus enables the victims to be loyal to the positive aspects and to incorporate them into their lives. In the case of incest, the process enables the victims to take the best from past generations and to pass it on to their offspring.
The process also helps the victims to avoid acting with misplaced unconscious loyalty to the abusers' negative aspects. Such loyalties may result in the victims' being inconsiderate of themselves and, due to feelings of guilt, denying their rights to have healthy relationships – conforming to the subtle message conveyed by abuse. Consequently, victims of abuse frequently experience mental blocks about emotional and physical intimacy, and may not feel entitled to get married or to become parents.
In guru-meditation, abused disciples can likewise focus on their abusive mentors' good qualities and stop dwelling on the teachers' improper behavior. Acknowledging the positive things that they in fact have gained in the disciple-mentor relationships with these teachers enables the disciples to repay the teachers as best as they can, in conscious, positive manners, by carrying on their spiritual traditions and trying to pass them on to others. In doing so, they "earn entitlement" to get on with their spiritual lives and to build healthy relationships with other teachers. If they only feel bitter or outraged, whether or not accompanied with unconscious guilt that the abuse occurred because of their personal shortcomings and faults – "I was not a good enough disciple" – they deprive themselves of feeling entitled to another trusting relationship. Dharma students traumatized by abusive teachers often become so disillusioned that they are unable to continue on the spiritual path.
Teachers Involved in Controversy
The approach used in Kadam guru-meditation, supplemented with the insights of contextual therapy, may also be helpful in dealing with confusion over teachers involved with spiritual controversy, but free of abusive behavior about it. Suppose, for example, our spiritual mentors do not command us, upon threat of hell, to uphold or to abandon a specific Dharma protector or a specific candidate as the incarnation of a great master, and thus do not abuse us in this way. Still, our mentors may privately practice or shun the protector, or may simply point out the advantages and disadvantages of doing or not doing the practice, while leaving the choice up to us. The same may be the case with respect to supporting one or another tulku candidate. We may have a different opinion from that of our mentors and agree with the other side, yet feel that in so doing, we are being disloyal. A healthy approach to the relationship would be to focus on and be loyal to the positive qualities of our mentors by adopting them to our behavior, while not accepting and not dwelling on the aspects with which we disagree.
The same advice holds true if we have already become disciples of teachers from both sides of the controversy. Both teachers may be on power trips and insist that we denounce and abandon the other side, or both may leave the decision up to us, or one may be one way and the other may be the other. It hardly matters. As His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama advised, people need to make up their own minds based on their limited powers of logic and reason and on their understanding of the scriptural sources. If spiritual seekers base their decisions on seeing both teachers as Buddhas or on reasoning merely from the ultimate viewpoint of voidness or the clear light mind, they will be unable to decide anything. Alternatively, they may need to decide that the issue is unimportant or irrelevant to their levels of spiritual practice and, with equanimity, maintain a distance from the controversy.
Whether we decide to keep a distance from one or both teachers, or to keep a relationship with each, we still may benefit from the Kadam style of sutra-level guru-meditation. We need to focus on the good qualities of each of our teachers and avoid dwelling on their destructive or enigmatic actions.
Overcoming Emotional Blocks in Appreciating Kindness
In A Lamp for the Definitive Meaning, Kongtrul correlated an essential element of bodhichitta meditation with guru-meditation. One method for disciples to develop bodhichitta entails recognizing all beings as having been their mothers in some previous life and focusing on their mothers' kindness. Similarly, guru-meditation requires focusing on their mentors' kindness.
Many Westerners, however, have difficulty focusing on the kindness of their mothers. Unable to find the goodness and kindness in their mothers, most cannot find any goodness in themselves either. Although they may be desperate for love and kindness, their mental blocks often prevent them from recognizing and appreciating the kindness of others, for instance their spiritual mentors. No matter how much kindness they receive, it is never enough.
One of the reasons for being unable to acknowledge our mothers' kindness may be that they fail to live up to our models of ideal parents. Similarly, when our spiritual mentors have shortcomings and do not live up to our models of ideal teachers, we may also have difficulty recognizing their kindness. Like children yearning for ideal love, we feel cheated if our mentors fail to meet our expectations.
Our emotional blocks in appreciating the kindness of our less-than-perfect mentors may derive from faults in mental labeling. Madhyamaka philosophy explains that words and concepts of knowable general phenomena, such as kindness, are mental labels that refer to a broad set of specific examples. If, however, we have fixed ideas of what kindness is, then we grasp at kindness to refer to only one specific form of kindness. Our fixed ideas make us unable to include other forms of considerate behavior in our concepts of kindness. Thus, we are unable to recognize and label those forms of behavior as kind and, consequently, we do not appreciate them.
For example, we may feel that being kind means to show warmth and physical affection. Our mothers may not be particularly warm, for a variety of reasons. They rarely cuddled us when we were children. Perhaps they showed affection in other ways, such as by taking meticulous care of our physical needs. Our mothers' behavior, however, did not match our fixed ideas of kindness. Because we hold only our limited ideas of kindness as the defining characteristic of an ideally kind mother, we are unable to label our mothers' physical care of us as kind.
A similar fault in mental labeling may be blocking us from recognizing and appreciating our mentors' kindness. We may have mental pictures of an ideal spiritual mentor – one who spends all his or her time exclusively on us, with loving warmth and affection like our ideal mothers or fathers would. Our spiritual mentors, however, may have many other disciples besides us and may not be particularly demonstrative of physical warmth. Moreover, in a society that is particularly hypersensitive to possible sexual harassment, our mentors may feel it better to be reserved in showing affection. They show kindness in taking meticulous care of our spiritual needs, teaching us with consistent dedication and enthusiasm despite our being less-than-perfect students. To recognize and appreciate our mentors' kindness and to gain inspiration from it in guru-meditation, we need to loosen and expand our restricted concepts of kindness. Correct mental labeling is another requirement for a proper rectification of terms.
Overcoming Emotional Blocks in Showing Respect
Many Westerners, particularly from the younger generations, have difficulty showing respect. They do not respect anything or anyone, perhaps because they feel that nothing or no one is trustworthy. Consistently, others have let them down or betrayed their trust, often starting with working parents who were forced by the pressures of modern life to leave them in childcare with strangers when they were toddlers. They see promises and treaties frequently broken, and political and spiritual leaders often involved in scandals. They feel that anyone who trusts someone in a position of leadership, or who trusts the words of such a person, is hopelessly idealistic and naive. Often, they lack respect even for themselves. Their unconscious feelings manifest in the attitude of "Anything is OK; it doesn't matter."
Consider the example of victims of child abuse. People whose parents have abused them as children usually lack any confidence in behavioral cause and effect. No matter how they acted, their parents got drunk and abused them. The treatment they received did not follow from their behavior. Even if they behaved well, they were violated or beaten. Such victims need to have their confidence restored in the proper workings of behavioral cause and effect.
Behavioral cause and effect, or karma, works in an extremely complex, nonlinear manner. It is not like kicking a ball and the ball goes flying. The ways in which parents respond to situations or events are not determined simply by those events, but by their personality profiles and personal histories, other happenings of the day, economic pressures, and so on. Thus, children's own behavior is not the sole determining cause of their receiving abuse from parents. Often, their conduct simply provides circumstances that trigger deeper psychological mechanisms in their parents. To gain self-respect, abused children need to gain a broader understanding of the manifold factors that have contributed to their parents' abusive treatment.
Guru-meditation similarly asks us to understand the wide scope of causes and circumstances that have brought about not only our mentors' achievements, but also their failures. The more we understand behavioral cause and effect, the more clearheaded we become about our mentors. Clearheaded belief and trust in a mentor are free of naivety.
To expect an abusive parent to act as an ideal parent would is simply naive. An abused child is correct in not trusting the person to be perfect. Similarly, if we idealize our mentors, we may blind ourselves to the workings of behavioral cause and effect that contribute to their actual conduct. When our mentors fail to live up to our ideals, we no longer trust them and find great difficulty in showing respect. If, however, we understand at least the principles of behavioral cause and effect, we trust that our mentors will behave according to them. We will not be disappointed.
For example, we may be practicing the Dharma sincerely, but our mentors may be too tired or busy to see us. If we expect that our mentors will always be available when we want advice, our trust in this happening is naive. If we expect the impossible, our mentors will inevitably let us down. If, on the other hand, we understand behavioral cause and effect, we trust in something more reasonable happening. We trust that our mentors will give us equitable amounts of time and attention if and when circumstances permit.
Reasonable trust derives from rational thinking, not from naivety or idealistic dreams. With such trust, we do not disparage our teachers as being bad mentors because they have no time for us now. Similarly, we do not put ourselves down by imagining that our mentors' unavailability now is due to our being bad disciples. Thus, reasonable trust allows clearheaded respect for one's mentor and for oneself.


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Review: Carnage and comedy in film that's not for everyone
So you wake up in a high tech lab, with no memory, seemingly resurrected from the dead and given cybernetic 'Robocop' like limbs. You're greeted by a beautiful blonde woman who introduces herself as 'Estelle' (Haley 'The Equalizer' Bennett), who says she is your wife. Before you can fully comprehend what is going on, or even get your voice module connected, the lab is stormed by a maniac named Akan (Danila Kozlovsky) who has psychic powers and leads an army of heavily armed mercenaries.
Akan kidnaps Estelle and leaves Henry for dead (again) and thus the scene is set for a what is probably the most violent cinematic action adventure of all time.
Can super-soldier Henry overcome insane odds, rescue Estelle and find out the truth about who he really is?
It's great fun finding out as long as you have the stomach for seriously gory death and destruction – all presented from a unique first-person viewpoint. Witnessing the plot entirely from Henry's viewpoint' might make some unsettled due to the vertigo -inducing kinetic action but it creates a film that feels very much like a big screen mix of Grand Theft Auto and Call of Duty – with a huge body-count.
Hardcore Henry is the most insane carnage-em-up to grace the screen since The Raid. Director Ilya Naishuller is obviously a fan of over-the-top action and he packs the film with every sort of death imaginable. It feels at times like a homage to the cheesy violent action of Arnie's 80s movies like Commando, it even packs a good deal of darkly comic one liners.
Henry's only ally in his quest is a mysterious agent named Jimmy (Sharlto 'District 9' Copley) who seems to have the ability to jump from body to body. Jimmy is a great sidekick, with his British soldier body/personality the pick of the bunch.
Dropping lines that are equally offensive and funny certainly got the biggest reaction from the crowd I caught this with. So strap in for a totally insane blast of bad taste violence, swearing and hyperactive eyeball-straining action.
Hardcore Henry certainly won't be everyone's cup of tea – in fact there are reports of many people walking out of screenings in the US – but as long as you know what you're getting in to, this is like a turbo-charged shot of pure adrenalin to the heart. Enter at your own risk!
* Tweet Matt @Cleric20


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E36 Fiber Glass 2.4Ghz Blue Electric Racing RTR RC Boat W/ Motor Servo ESC Battery Transmitter DIY Model 845*245*130mm 75-80km/h
E36 Fiber Glass 2.4Ghz Blue Electric Racing RTR RC Boat W/ Motor Servo ESC Battery Transmitter DIY Model 845*245*130mm 75-80km/h
Our RC boats are hobby grade, not toy grade, we expect our buyer is capable of learning how to maintain this boat, because the boat will get glitches in the running. Lacking manipulative ability will result in reducing your satisfaction of purchasing and playing the boat.
Suitable for people with manipulative ability
Not suitable for people without interest to maintain the boat and exchange parts.
Not suitable for people who is too busy to learn from seller about how to maintain.
As for this electric boat, we have three versions, KIT, PNP and RTR
KIT means it is just a well painted empty fiber glass boat hull. You need to glue mount board in the boat and load all your own electronic parts into this kit and you need to do some cutting and polishing jobs. KIT is suitable for advanced player who has very well manipulative ability, or else it will be a very hard thing for you.
PNP means this boat comes with loaded motor, ESC, servo, steering hardware. You must have your own RC system, batteries.
RTR means all is included, it is a PNP model plus a rc system and battery, the charger is not included in this RTR version, if you need it please contact me. You could try your RTR boat when you receive this version.
Item Condition:
New, if you need me to upgrade your boat, we can help.
Name: Sword
Hull Material: Fiber Glass
Color: Blue/Green/Red/White/Yellow
Hull Size: 845*245*130mm
Propeller: D40 metal propeller
Motor: B3674/1750KV Brushless motor
Servo: loaded
Recommended Battery: 1* 6S 22.2 V (Only RTR includes the battery, PNP doesn't include)
Metal drive shaft: flex shaft
CNC metal steering parts
1. Streamlined unibody fiber glass boat, the same material with a real boat, high endurance for high speed.
2, High speed could reach to 75-80km/h.
3, With water cooling system, provide the motor and ESC a better protection.
4. CNC made metal steering rudder.
5. Power motor comes with strong momentum.
6, Mini size boat for professional racing games.
This is RTR (Ready to Run) version, included as following,
A fiber glass boat hull
CNC hardware
Steering system
Cooling system
Radio system
The package doesn't include:
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1: Will the boat turn over when running?
A: The boat definitely will turn over sometimes. When the boat runs in high speed, the bow rises and the hull vibrates violently so the boat maybe will turn over sometimes, it is very normal. So, you'd better prepare rescue boat for any incidence in advance.
Q2. Will the water get into the boat? Will the devices of the boat break down when flooded in the water?
A: For electric boats, even the boat is sealed properly, water still will get in, it is unavoidable. Try your best to prevent water from entering into servo and receiver by doing some water proofing job, or buy water proof servo. For gasoline boats, water will get into boats easily, but there is one waterproof device box protecting the servo and battery. But if too much water get into the boat, the engine may will be flooded, then it will cause troubles.
Q3. Will the boat sink?
A: Yes, it will sometimes. In high speed situation, the boat maybe will lose control and turn over, crash, or hit something, these will make the water get into the boat, then it maybe sank. So you need to get a rescue boat.
Q4. Does the boat has water cooling system?
A: The boat we sell generally has water cooling system, but maybe there are one or two boats without water cooling system. Please check carefully on our description.
Q5.If I need some spare parts of this item, where should I get it from?
A: Don't worry, Toucan Hobby provides with all parts of the boats. If you need any spare part, you can contact us directly. When you get spare parts, you need to fit and assembly by yourself. If you are not rich in experience, please go to your local hobby shop because some parts is not easy to load.
Q6. Can I refit the boat? A: Of course you can as long as you have this kind of knowledge. These boats can be refitted in order to get the higher speed and more functions.
Q7. Will the hull break? What can I do if I have this problem?
A: Yes, it will sometimes. Even it is made of fiber glass like a real boat, it will get broken when hit something in high speed. If this happens to your boat, we can try our best to help you to restore, but if the boat is crashed seriously, then you may have to get a new boat hull and need to load it by yourself.
After Sale Services
After Sale Services
We have the ability to handle any trouble of these items and refitting.
We can provide upgrading parts but you must have the ability to install.
What is covered?
Any pre and after-sales problems such as materials, performance, breakage and transportation could get assistance from Toucanhobby .
All malfunctions that you feel too hard to solve could get help from Toucanhobby.
Accessories of most products could be collected for you by Toucanhobby, and we try our best, it is the best if you provide a picture directly.
How long does this coverage last?
All products that you have bought for a long time could still get help from Toucanhobby.
Who is covered?
Anyone who needs technical help can contact us directly any time.
We have some requirements for customers who bought PROFESSIONAL RC HOBBY PRODUCTS, especially concerning hydraulic system or relatively complicated electronic and radio system setting. We require our customer to be patient and be able to communicate with us, and be capable of handling modeling problems.
How do you protect your rights?
Contact us directly. It would be highly efficient for us to solve problems if you could provide the order number, transaction ID, pictures and videos of the product at one time.
What will we do?
We will communicate with you within 24 hours after getting your message or email, and then confirm the issue, offer technical help and satisfactory solutions, and be responsible till the end.


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Although Instagram users do not commonly turn to the site to find out what's happening in the world, CEO Kevin Systrom hopes that will change.
Instagram may be trying to become a photo-heavy version of Twitter, a major rival service. One of the company's biggest goals is to figure out how to better use the 55 million photos its users upload each day to describe what's going on in the world, Systrom said Wednesday at the Gigaom RoadMap conference in San Francisco.
"How do we surface live events overseas, tell you there's rioting in London, or let you turn to the World Series?" Systrom said in response to a question from Gigaom founder Om Malik about the future of Instagram, during an on-stage chat. "If it's about what's happening in the world visually, how do we let you discover that?" Systrom said.
Right now, discovering new content on Instagram is awkward with the site's existing hashtag and user search functions. "It's really hard to find the content you want to find without being good at searching through hashtags," Systrom said.
To achieve its vision, Instagram said it would need to make better use of location and proximity data. To do that, the company needs to balance the need for privacy with the benefits of providing location information to the Instagram app, Systrom said.
"I'm sure all of us would like to see what's happening across the world as it's happening, but then you need location data," he said.
Other ideas on the table for Instagram include new ways to tag different elements in photos -- such as products -- now that advertisements are part of the service, Systrom said.
Instagram has had strong growth since the company was acquired by Facebook last year. At the time of the acquisition, Instagram had nearly 30 million users and now has 150 million-plus active users. Instagram has around 60 employees inside Facebook, up from about 15 last year, Systrom said.
"We're going from kind of becoming a business, to actually becoming a business," Systrom said.
Zach Miners covers social networking, search and general technology news for IDG News Service. Follow Zach on Twitter at @zachminers. Zach's e-mail address is email@example.com


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Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a gun control group led by New York's Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Boston's Mayor Thomas Menino, is running a TV ad on the two-year anniversary of the Tucson, Arizona rampage that left six dead and former Arizona Rep. Gabby Giffords critically injured. In the ad, Roxanna Green, the mother of a young girl who was murdered in the attack, asks mothers to "demand a plan" and Washington to "find the courage to stand up to the gun lobby." According to Politico, the ad will air in Waco, Texas; Roanoke, Va.; Fargo, N.D.; Denver; Binghamton, N.Y.; Milwaukee, and Washington D.C. through January 14. Watch the ad below:
Mayors Against Illegal Guns set up the Demand a Plan campaign in 2006 to "prevent future tragedies by passing common sense legislation." They advocate for a criminal background check for every gun sold in America, a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines, and a strengthened criminal code which makes gun trafficking a federal crime. Last month a group of actors and musical artists posted a YouTube video viewed by millions on behalf of Demand a Plan to raise awareness of their cause.


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Henry J. Kimball was born in 1889. He was educated at Cornell Law School,
and was admitted to the bar on March 17, 1913. From that time until 1930, excepting the time he spent in uniform during World War I, he practiced law in a prominent firm in Watertown, NY. In the latter year, he was elected Jefferson County Judge after an unusually competitive Republican primary. He held that post from 1931 to shortly after his election to the Supreme Court for the Fifth District in 1938. He sat as a trial judge for nine years. In February of 1948, he was appointed an Associate Justice of the Appellate Division for the Fourth Department, where he remained until mandatorily retired at the close of 1959. He died shortly thereafter on January 19, 1960.


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Today, we inaugurated a new segment on the show – The Gliberal Goddesses! It's GottaLaff, Amy Simon and myself talking about things that women talk about, the way women talk about them.
Today we discussed the Ray Rice domestic violence case and the NFL's sad response to it.
So great to hear from Keith Olbermann again! While I agree with him, I also agree with Whoopi Goldberg
We also discussed some Pat Robertson insanity (nothing new there), and the most outrageous comment of the day, this time from Geraldo Rivera…
I don't think we'll have trouble filling this segment in the future. We'll have to decide whether to do it in Laffy's spot every other week or schedule a separate show in the afternoon so Laffy can get her beauty rest in. Stay tuned!
In the first hour, I spoke with Rev. Jasmine Beach-Ferrara, executive director of the Campaign for Southern Equality, about the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals has just ruling in Bostic v. Schaefer upholding the decision to strike down Virginia's ban on same-sex marriage! The dominoes are falling in the fight against marriage equality..
More tomorrow, radio or not!


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Our Mission
To Grow Company Profitability and Stakeholder Value
Our Vision
To be the Preferred Supplier of Quality Products and Services to Consumers and Agricultural Producers Through a Stable Cooperative.
To satisfy our mission and to see our vision come to fruition, we have assembled a team of knowledgeable experts to service you in areas of Agronomy for large acre production, Propane use for home or business, and multiple retail centers to provide you with home, farm, and ranching products for life in NW Montana. Give us a call, drop us a email, or stop by one of our loctions and let us serve you today.
These people go out of their way. It's almost like they know you personally like a neighbor or a friend. Ever since I've started doing business with them they consistently go the extra mile...they're just great.


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Pee Safe Toilet Seat Sanitizer Spray India
PeeSafe is an instant Toilet Seat Sanitizer Spray which protects against germs, without leaving any residual. It consists of IPA Formulation which starts action within 5 seconds of application. The small and compact bottle makes it travel-friendly, providing you protection from bathroom borne diseases like Diarrhoea and Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) on the go and at home.
Benefits/Features (in bullet points)
- Toilet seat sanitizer and deodorizer spray with a pleasant fragrance
- Protects against germs and bacteria
- Safeguards from bathroom borne diseases and reduces the risk of UTI
- Travel-friendly, easy to carry aerosol spray bottle
- Can also be used on other toilet surfaces like taps, flush and door handles
How to use
- Shake your PeeSafe bottle and spray it on the toilet seat from a distance of about 25 cms.
- PeeSafe takes upto 10 seconds to dry up completely protecting against all the harmful bacteria and leaving no residual on the seat.
- The toilet is completely sanitized for use with a pleasant fragrance.


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Port of exit
You can find the name of a port of exit through any of the documents listed below. If you have the minimum information required to find one of these documents, select the name of that document. The items in the list are ordered from most to least important. If you do not have the minimum information required, read the paragraph below this list.
Make sure to check photo albums, scrapbooks, diaries, and family Bibles at home. See the topic Finding information at home for more information. Also check for local histories. See the topic Finding previous research.
Finding a port of exit with passenger lists
Passenger lists will give you your ancestor's port of exit. However, when using passenger lists, you should be aware of their limitations:
- You may not find your ancestor on an arrival list because many lists have been lost or destroyed over the years.
- The government did not require passenger lists until 1820, so the records for pre-1820 immigrants are more sporadic, and the information on these lists varies greatly.
- Some lists may be difficult to locate. The National Archives collection mainly includes lists for Atlantic and Gulf ports in the post-1820 period, and there are large gaps in the records for most ports. Pre-1820 lists are scattered in libraries, historical societies, and other archives throughout the nation. You may need to check with several libraries and genealogical societies before you can locate the list that you need.
- Records for individuals entering through Canada and Mexico were not kept until the 20th century, so if an individual first went to one of those countries and then entered the United States, you may not find them on a list at all.
To locate your ancestor on a passenger list, you must first find his or her name in an index. There is no single index for all passenger lists, but one of the most complete indexes is Passenger and Immigration Lists Index by P. William Filby and Mary K. Meyer. There are many other indexes, some of which concentrate on a specific group of people, such as Germans, or on a specific port of arrival, such as New York. It is possible that you will need to search through several indexes before you locate your ancestor. Check with your local public library, genealogy library, and other resources to see what types of indexes they have. A few examples of specialized indexes are in the list below.
- The Famine Immigrants: Lists of Irish Immigrants Arriving at the Port of New York, 1846-1851 , Ira A. Glazier, editor
- Germans to America: Lists of Passengers Arriving at US Ports, 1850-1872 , Ira A. Glazier and P. William Filby, eds.
- Dutch Immigrants in United States Ship Passenger Manifests, 1820-1880 , Robert P. Swierenga
- The Wuerttemberg Emigration Index, 1750-1900 , Trudy Schenk and Rutch Froelke, compilers
- Alsace Emigration Book , Cornelia Schrader-Muggenthaler
- Baden Emigration Book , Cornelia Schrader-Muggenthaler
- Antwerp Emigration Index, 1855 , Charles M. Hall
- If the arrival was after 1820, the source of information normally includes a microfilm roll number that you can look up through the National Archives.
- If the arrival was before 1820, the index will give you information about where the list was published so that you can locate it. To find a pre-1820 list, you may have to contact several libraries or archives.
To look at passenger lists held by the National Archives, you must either go to or contact the National Archives regional branch in your area or the National Archives in Washington, D.C. The passenger ship list holdings for the regional branches vary, so you should call before you go. For more information about contacting the National Archives, see the topic The National Archives and regional centers.
You can also order copies of passenger lists from the National Archives themselves. Chapter 2 of the Guide to Genealogical Research in the National Archives, published by the National Archives, lists all of the ports of entry for which the National Archives has lists and/or indexes. Write to: Reference Services Branch (NNIR), National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C. 20408. Request a copy of NATF Form 81. You will need to fill out and return this form to order a copy of a particular list.
In addition, the Family History Library of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has passenger lists. You can access the lists through the library itself, as well as through your local Family History Center.
Finding the minimum information for passenger lists
To find the name of the port of exit on a passenger list, you must at least know the individual's full name and the approximate date of arrival. However, the more information you know, the better. For example, if you know the individual's nationality or the port of arrival, you will be able to narrow down your search.
Get help finding some of the minimum information by selecting one of the following items:
Knowing the port of entry may help you find the passenger list that you need. Contact the state archives or National Archives branch in the vicinity of the port of entry and find out what type of ship arrival records they have for that port. Once you know the names and dates of ships that came through the port of entry, you can begin looking up passenger lists under various ship names. You don't have to look up the lists for all of the ships that came through that port, but only for those that came from a likely port of exit and arrived on the date you think your ancestor entered the country. Eventually, you may come across the passenger list that contains your ancestor's name.
If you don't know the port of entry, then you can make some educated guesses. For example, many people moved hundreds of miles away from their port of entry, but others stayed in the general area. If you can make an educated guess, you at least have a possible place to start looking for passenger lists. If you don't know exactly where an individual lived when they arrived in the United States, you may be able to take a guess at it by finding out where they were at other points in their life. For example, where did they get married? Where were their children born? Where did they die? Where were they at the time of each census? The answers to these questions may help you out. For assistance finding any of this information, return to the main Step-by-Step topic.
If you know that your ancestor departed from Hamburg, you should check the departure records that are available through the Family History Library of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The departure records for Hamburg are indexed by year from 1850-1934, and usually give the individual's town or village of residence in Europe.
Finding a port of exit with naturalization records
If the individual whose port of exit you are looking for became a naturalized citizen, then you should be able to find the name of the port from their naturalization papers. Please note that women were not naturalized prior to 1923. They became naturalized citizens with their husbands.
Before September 27, 1906, a person could apply to a local, state, or federal district court to become a naturalized citizen. Therefore, if your ancestor was naturalized before that date, contact the local, state, and federal district courts in the area(s) where your ancestor lived. The clerk of the court should be able to direct you in your search for naturalization papers. In some cases the court will still have the records, and in other cases, the records may have been transferred to a local library or archive. Many federal district court records may have been transferred to the National Archives or to a regional branch of the National Archives. Chapter 3 of the Guide to Genealogical Research in the National Archives lists the location of district court records by state. To contact the National Archives or regional centers, see the topic The National Archives and regional centers.
After September 27, 1906, copies of naturalization papers were sent to the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) in Washington, D.C. If your ancestor was naturalized after this date, you can write to the following address and ask for a copy of the form G-641, Application for Verification of Information from Immigration and Naturalization Service Records: Immigration and Naturalization Service, 425 Eye Street N.W., Washington, D.C. 20536.
Finding the minimum information for naturalization records
To find the name of a port of exit on a naturalization record, you must at least know the individual's full name and approximate date of birth.
Get help finding some of the minimum information by selecting one of the following items:
When you're checking for naturalization records, make sure that you check with the courts in all locations where your ancestor lived during his or her lifetime. The naturalization process took several years, because individuals first had to file papers of intent, then fill the residency requirement, and then file final papers. This means that the papers that you need may not be located in the area where the individual was living at the time that he or she became a citizen. If you would like help locating different places where the individual may have lived see the topic Places the family has lived.
Finding a port of exit with newspapers
Some newspapers printed ship arrival announcements. These announcements listed both the names of the individuals who died on board the ship and the names of those who arrived safely. In addition, this type of announcement may list a port of exit.
The directories listed below will help you find the current owners of old newspapers from the time and place when the announcement was published. If the individual spoke a foreign language, check to see if there was a newspaper in that language, too. Once you have located the current owners, you can request to search the appropriate copies. The current owners should be able to direct you in your search.
- Ayer Directory of Newspapers and Periodicals, available at most community libraries.
- Winifred Gregory's American Newspaper, available at community and genealogical libraries
The Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) microfiche. The OCLC has a database of the U.S. Newspaper Program National Union List. You can access the OCLC at most university libraries and some community libraries.
Finding the minimum information for newspapers
To get a copy of a ship arrival announcement, you must at least know the approximate date of the arrival, the full name of the passenger, and the state and city or town where the ship arrived or where the announcement was likely to have been published.
Get help finding some of the minimum information by selecting one of the following items:
Knowing where an individual first lived when they moved to the United States may help you find where an announcement may have been in the newspaper. If you don't have this information, you may guess at it by finding out where they were at other points in their life. For example, where did they get married? Where were their children born? Where did they die? Where were they at the time of each census? The answers to these questions may help you out. For assistance finding any of this information, return to the main Step-by-Step topic.


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"Occupy" protesters on the West Coast moved Monday to disrupt ports in Los Angeles, San Francisco and elsewhere. The action fizzled in Los Angeles, as the AP reports:
"Heavy rain dampened the protest and the demonstrators, who were flanked by dozens of police, have now moved off, effectively making a peaceful end to a four-hour protest."
The AP says about 200 people showed up for the protest at the Port of Longbeach and that there was one arrest related to the gathering.
The "Wall Street on the Waterfront" protests seem to have had more success in Oakland. KQED says that a crowd their reporter estimated to be 1,000 strong marched through the streets of West Oakland this morning. At the port, protesters were able to disrupt operations:
"Caitlin Esch, who is at the port now, says at least three of the six gates at the port are effectively blocked, with nothing moving in or out as protesters clog up the entrances. Trucks are lined up, some trying to drop off, some trying to pick up."
You can follow tweets and regular updates on the protests in the Bay Area on KQED's News Fix blog.
In Portland, Oregon, the Occupy movement also managed to block some shipping operations, as The Oregonian reports:
"Hundreds Occupy Portland protesters effectively shut down two of the Port of Portland's busiest terminals, preventing about 200 longshore workers from going to work today."
"The demonstrations began about 6 a.m. and have been largely peaceful so far."
The protests, which have generated tension between the Occupy movement and unions representing affected truckers and dock workers, are aimed at facilities the movement sees as part of a system supporting "elites," the AP reports:
"The protesters say American ports have become 'economic engines for the elite.' They are most upset by giant West Coast port operator SSA Marine and grain exporter EGT, which they say epitomize the big corporations that make up the '1 percent.'"
"Goldman Sachs owns a major stake in SSA Marine, and the bank has been a repeated target of Occupy protesters since the movement began."
Other ports targeted by Occupy protesters today include San Diego; Seattle, Tacoma, Washington, and Anchorage, Alaska.
We'll update this post as developments warrant.
Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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sinatra-mongo 0.1.0
Extends Sinatra with an extension method for dealing with monogodb using the ruby driver.
Install it with gem:
$ gem install sinatra-mongo
Now we can use it an example application.
require 'sinatra'
require 'sinatra/mongo'
# Specify the database to use. Defaults to mongo://localhost:27017/default,
# so you will almost definitely want to change this.
# Alternatively, you can specify the MONGO_URL as an environment variable
set :mongo, 'mongo://localhost:27017/sinatra-mongo-example'
# At this point, you can access the Mongo::Database object using the 'mongo' helper:
puts mongo["testCollection"].insert {"name" => "MongoDB", "type" => "database", "count" => 1, "info" => {"x" => 203, "y" => '102'}}
get '/' do
If you need to use authentication, you can specify this in the mongo uri:
set :mongo, 'mongo://myuser:mypass@localhost:27017/sinatra-mongo-example'
Mongo Reference
* http://www.mongodb.org/display/DOCS/Ruby+Tutorial
Note on Patches/Pull Requests
Fork the project.
Make your feature addition or bug fix.
Add tests for it. This is important so I don't break it in a future version unintentionally.
Commit, do not mess with rakefile, version, or history. (if you want to have your own version, that is fine but bump version in a commit by itself I can ignore when I pull)
Send me a pull request. Bonus points for topic branches.
Copyright © 2009 Joshua Nichols. See LICENSE for details.


text: In Ys: Memories of Celceta, developer Falcom revisits the land and characters of Japanese cult favorite Ys IV for its first ever North American debut. This re-envisioning of the fourth installment in the Ys series takes a brand new approach, changing and framing the story of Ys IV within an all-new tale of conspiracy, deception and mystery. Featuring an updated version of the party-based battle system from Ys Seven, as well as the largest and most varied overworld in series history, Ys: Memories of Celceta brings a greater sense of adventure to the Ys universe than has ever been seen before.


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Half-finished painting for Srila Gurudeva's upcoming English publication of Gita-Govinda
Respected Maharajas, Prabhus and Didis, Dandavat pranama. Jaya Sri Guru and Gauranga.
As you may know, Srila Gurudeva is continually translating and writing commentaries on our acaryas transcendental literatures and he wants paintings for all his books, just as our Srila Prabhupada wanted. Up to now I have been the lone painter, and as a result there is a great bottleneck. Sometimes others have tried to help, but it has not proved successful so far. Here is the reason: We began painting for Prabhupada in 1966, when we could barely paint at all, and yet Prabhupada accepted out primitive paintings for his temple walls and for his first books. Gradually more artists joined and together we did some very amateur paintings for his Krsna Book, Second Canto, and so on. Gradually, as we worked together, and as Prabhupada encouraged us that we were doing okay and should also try to improve, our styles became similar and also developed technically. Then, gradually, as the years went on, we came up to a professional standard. So Prabhupada accepted for his books whatever standard we were on, and encouraged us to improve, and now we have improved by his grace, and most of you are familiar with our work.
Srila Gurudeva is now continuing to train us, where Prabhupada left off, as Prabhupadas representative and successor. He doesnt want to start from the beginning, as Prabhupada did. This means he wants to accept only that professional standard, both in technique and in mood.
It is naturally extremely difficult for most artists to jump into that ocean and expect to swim. Still, we need many artists, so here is the plan
We are just now beginning to embark on learning computer graphics, so that we can try to do faster paintings in the computer. We have full faith that when we will know well programs like Photoshop and Corel Painter, this will be possible, but we also know that it will take awhile to learn. We know enough about these programs to know that even if a devotee is not up to the standard Srila Gurudeva wants in the paintings, if he is expert in these computer graphics programs, he can help tremendously and can at least work on parts of paintings, cutting and pasting photos and pictures from other documents and pasting them in the new painting document, and adjusting them to look like they fit in the painting. Then, either they or I will be able to touch them up so the painting looks like one unit. Also, if we think we have to change something of the color contrast in the computer painting, for example, we will be able to do so by pressing one key, instead of taking 2 days by doing it on a canvas outside the computer. And, if we dont like the change, by pressing another key, again the entire painting changes in one second. A graphic artist will understand what I mean.
I am quite a novice at this, and so I cant train graphic artists. We need expert graphic artists. They can help me with the programs and I can help turn their talents into paintings for Gurudevas books. At least that is our idea.
So is there anyone out there who would like to help with this? You would more or less have to be in the same place as me geographically, in which case you would have to be free to travel, or to stay in Vrndavana for a few months of the year, and we can also meet when we are in your city. We are presently working on paintings for Srila Gurudevas English version of Sri Gita-govinda, in the world outside the computer, and it seems to be taking forever.
Jayanta dasa prabhu has kindly donated an HP large screen computer for this purpose, and Jaya-krsna dasa prabhu has kindly donated the newest model wacom tablet, and Visvambara prabhu kindly gave a Painter 8 tutorial book. You would be able to work on our computer, and you can also bring your own.
Thank you in advance for your kind consideration on the above. You can write to me at
Vaisnava sevabhilasi, Syamarani dasi
P.S. If any of you are expert in designing covers, that is also great.
hare kṛṣṇa hare kṛṣṇakṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa hare harehare rāma hare rāmarāma rāma hare hare


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Help Center user segmentation using Google Analytics custom dimensions
Many customers ask how they can segment out their Help Center activity metrics based on user role. While this isn't currently possible using the Help Center dashboards, it is quite easy to do using the Zendesk Google Analytics integration and custom dimensions.
Step 1: Enable Google Analytics Site Search Tracking on your Help Center
If you haven't enabled Site Search Tracking for Google Analytics, follow the steps in this article to enable it on your Help Center.
Step 2: Configure custom dimensions
Google Analytics Custom Dimensions are a way to capture custom information on a user when they visit your Help Center or anywhere where you have Google Analytics tracking enabled.
First of all you must configure your Custom Dimensions in Google Analytics properly. This must be configured in the Analytics User Interface.
Go to the Admin section of Google Analytics and then to Custom Definitions > Custom Dimensions. Create two new Custom Dimensions. Custom Dimensions have the following configuration values:
- Name – the name of the custom dimension as it will appear in your reports.
- Scope – specifies to which data the custom dimension or metric will be applied. Learn more about Scope.
- Active – whether the custom dimension or metric value will be processed. Inactive custom dimensions may still appear in reporting, but their values will not be processed.
You should create a custom dimensions named User Role and User Locale that have a Session scope and are active.
The first custom dimension is called User Role and tracks the Role of the user using the HelpCenter.user.role value (eg. manager, end_user, anonymous, etc) in Slot 1.
The second custom dimension is called User Locale and the tracks the locale of a user using the HelpCenter.user.locale value (en-US, en-UK, etc) in Slot 2.
These will allow me to segment all of the activity and search metrics by these two custom dimensions.
Step 3: Set a custom dimensions for visitors
Once the custom dimensions are defined you can see which dimension they are assigned to ( dimension[0-9]+) and you can use in code. In my example account they are dimension1 and dimension2. You can then use this dimension in the code
- name—The name for the custom dimension. Required. This is a string that identifies the custom dimension and appears in your reports. (dimension[0-9]+)
- value—The value for the custom dimension. Required. This is a string that is paired with a name. You can pair a number of values with a custom dimension name. The value appears in the table list of the UI for a selected variable name. Typically, you will have two or more values for a given name. For example, you might define a custom variable name gender and supply male and female as two possible values.
In this example, I have included two Help Center custom dimensions on the Session level. These must sent along as part of a custom event. It is important that we define this as a non-interaction event so that it does not contribute to bounce rates or other important metrics. This will eventually look something like this when it's all put together:
ga('send', 'event', 'Help Center', 'User', {
'dimension1': HelpCenter.user.role,
'dimension2': HelpCenter.user.locale,
nonInteraction: true
Step 3: Look at your Google Analytics metrics sliced by custom dimensions
It may take an hour or so for the new custom dimensions to be available in your Google Analytics project. Once the custom dimensions have synced with your Google Analytics project, you can segment your metrics by the custom dimensions.
In this example, I have broken out page views by User Locale by navigating to Reporting > Behavior > Site Content > All Pages and selecting Secondary Dimension > Custom Dimension > User Role.
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this code snippet seems to break my javascript when I place it in:
//Google Analytics User Variable
_gaq.push(['_setCustomVar',1,'User Role', HelpCenter.user.role,1]);
Updated code to reflect the library change from ga.js to analytics.js:
// Google Analytics User role
ga('set', 'dimension1', HelpCenter.user.role);
ga('send', 'event', 'Zendesk', 'Users', 'role', {nonInteraction: true}); -
Updated to reflect a better workflow and avoid using ga('send', 'pageview');
We're trying to segment actions based on user tags for paid customers, staff, other (logged in, other tags), and anonymous (not logged in).
GA dimension is set to a User-level scope. We'll also pass this through with a non-interaction event, so we don't double our pageviews.
// Google Analytics user tag dimension
var tag="";
if (HelpCenter && HelpCenter.user.tags) {
var staff_user = (HelpCenter.user.tags.indexOf("staff") > -1);
var paid_user = (HelpCenter.user.tags.indexOf("paid") > -1);
if (staff_user === true) {
tag = "staff";
else if (paid_user === true) {
tag = "paid";
} else {
tag = "other";
} else {
tag = "anonymous"
ga('set', 'dimension1', tag);
ga('send', 'event', 'ZenDesk', 'UserType', tag, {
nonInteraction: true,
}); -
Hello, I am using several custom dimensions (added in the JS code). I have one ga 'send' function below the custom dimensions to get the data into Google Analytics. However, since a page hit is already created by default, I get duplicate pageview hits.
Any suggestions on what I could do to avoid the duplicate pageview hits?
Hi Sandra,
I've run into the same problem. I took a class from a very helpful Google Analytics consultancy called LunaMetrics which helped me catch this. They've also proposed a solution:
If the custom dimension is set at the Session or User level, then you can use an Event instead of a pageview. What the event Category/Action/Label say isn't really important, as we're just using it as a vehicle to get the data into Google Analytics. The important part is the "non-interaction parameter" - which tells Google not to count this as an interaction, which means it won't influence Bounce Rate or Time on Site.
ga('set', 'dimension1', tag);
ga('send', 'event', 'ZenDesk', 'UserType', tag, {
nonInteraction: true,
});I'll update my suggestion above to include this parameter.
Hi Tony,
I just got the same reply in the Google Analytics user forum :) I updated the code in my post above as well.
I changed the code in JS but I can no longer report on the custom dimensions in Behavior > Site Content. Instead, I can then add the CDs to the statistics in Behavior > Events.
Is this how it is supposed to be? Does this mean I can't really combine the statistics before and after changing the custom dimensions to event hits?
Sandra -
Hi Sandra,
I guess we're on the right track. :) Ours is a User-level metric, so I believe it will be applicable across reports through segmentation. Once we've updated our code and answer a couple more questions, I'll update this comment to let you know what happens for us.
Thanks for sharing your experience, too!
Hi Sandra,
Just getting back to metrics after focusing on my main responsibility as Insightly's product writer for a bit. (The Many Hats situation of life at a start-up!) Our custom dimension is available in the Site Content reports and others. And our pageview counts have normalized, so this worked for us.
I hope you worked it out.
I want to use the exact example in this article, ie tracking based on user role. Does anyone have a corrected script for this that doesn't break everything?
I also need the correct code for the exact example in this article as using the one given broke our java script.
I have a Zendesk ticket out on this as I had to remove the script due to the unwanted impact of the presence of the script causing the Submit button on the customer's request page to disappear.
We truly need to be able to measure user role in our Google Analytics so would be grateful for the functional script! Thanks!
I received an update from Zendesk that this article references an old legacy code. The following articles were provided to help modify using the new code Google supports:
Hi Corrin! Thanks for coming back and sharing what you found out from Support. I'm going to follow up on this Tip to see if we can get it updated.
Thanks so much Jessie! I'm a novice with java script so the update will be truly appreciated!
Adding the final comment from Zendesk support pointing to the resources for updating this script. As a novice in java script I am not able to create the script based on the instruction and shell alone. Hopefully this provides all that is needed to update this article as this is a valuable information perspective to capture:
"As you can see here the use of the _gac object has been deprecated by Google and is something that we don't load in Help Center. Thus, when you utilize this old code, the JavaScript on the page fails as _gac is undefined as seen here. When this exception occurs all JS on the page fails to run, and it is necessary for the JS on the page to run as you have a theme that relies of JS to show the Submit button once someone clicks into the comment area.
Thus, to continue using what you were using I recommend you use the new code that Google supports which can be found here.
The new tracking uses the following syntax ga('send', 'pageview');, you can find more info about transition from the old code to the new in this Google article.
Once you have the proper (new) Google Analytics code in place and no JS fails on your Help Center, you should not have the issue you were experiencing earlier.
I can provide some guidance regarding this, however please not that I'm not versed in Google Analytics.
As the old ga.js is legacy code and can still be used I would first try to see if pasting the code found here and replacing UA-XXXXX-X with your web property ID, resolves the issue for you. You can paste this code in the Document Head section of your Help Center. This would be the easiest way for you to get things working as it was. However, please note that this may break in the near future.
If you would like to migrate to the new Universal Analytics by Google Analytics you'll have to make some backend changes in your Google Analytics as stated here. The Custom Variables found on the old platform has been changed to Custom Dimensions. As you can see the generic code for custom dimension is ga('set', 'dimension1', 'Paid');, if you compare this to the old ga.js it's as follows:
I hope this helps you out get started with getting things working for your Help Center and Google Analytics again."
Hi Corrin!
Thanks for reporting back and providing this detailed info! We're going to work on updating the article.
Thanks Jennifer! Excellent news! I look forward to being able to leverage this!
Any news on updating this so we can track user role in site search?
Sorry, Corrin, but I don't have good news here. I haven't been able to find anybody who can update this one...yet...
Thanks Jennifer,
We are unable to pull a report on solely customer or soley agent site search activity currently. I signed up for early access to explore so haven't seen more than a demo of BIME Analytics. Are you aware of whether we will be able to pull a high level Customer vs Agent site search trends via Explore?
Hi Corrin,
I'm not sure about the specific HC reports that will be in Explore. The two teams are currently in the process of planning those out. But I expect that the first version of the dashboards might be more focused on content and not that type of user segmentation. If you want to check back in mid-January, I might know more them.
Hi Corrin and Happy New Year!
Just wanted to let you know that this article was updated!
Thanks Jennifer and team for updating! This is indeed a Happy New Year gift!
I've followed the instructions and tested to ensure it no longer breaks the java script and will wait a few hours to see if results start populating.
Question on the article. Is there a place we should be adding the javascript detailed out by the Google Analytics custom dimension referenced in step 2?
Or do we only need to add the javascript as indicated in step 3? -
I believe my question was answered by the results! Even though the article does state "It may take an hour or so for the new custom dimensions to be available in your Google Analytics project" I expected to see them a bit sooner.
In logging out and back in several records suddenly populated.
So entering only the JS code indicated in step 3 worked great. I suppose the Google Analytics example is for other platforms.
Thank you again for updating!
That's great news! Thanks for reporting back, Corrin!
A question about user role - I was expecting to see the role value correspond exactly to the "Role" user field in the app. However, it appears that users with "Administrator" role in the app don't have HelpCenter.user.role = "Administrator". It's "Manager".
Can anyone confirm the ZenDesk logic here for how actual user roles in the app map to HelpCenter.user.role in JSON?
Hey @Peter,
You're correct that this is a bit of legacy of the Zendesk product evolving over time. Many times when we update user facing labels in code, the internal representation in the database and other systems doesn't necessarily get the same update to avoid any unforeseen consequences. Additionally a few other roles can have admin privileges like Team Leader or a user with the Help Center Manager permission.
There are 4 possible values in the context of HelpCenter.user.role
"manager", "agent", "end_user", "anonymous"
Let me know if that answers your question.
Hi Ryan - thanks for the quick response. Can you provide a table showing how the standard user roles in the interface map to the JSON values in session?
Like this...
Administrator >> Manager
Agent >> Agent
Hey Peter,
That will depend on your user roles and your account plan level. If you have created custom roles on Enterprise, any role with the Help Center Manager role will be reported as "manager".
You can see more here: https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/203662026-Creating-custom-roles-and-assigning-agents-Enterprise-
But based on the predefined Enterprise roles, you would have:
- Legacy Agent - "agent"
- Light Agent - "agent"
- Staff - "agent"
- Team Leader - "manager"
- Advisor - "agent"
- Administrator - "manager"
End user is anyone that has a log in but is not an agent or manager. Anonymous is anyone browsing your Help Center while not logged in. I hope this helps.
I wanted to include user.id in what I am sending to google analytics, but for some reason it does not seem to be working. I went through the steps listed and created 3 dimensions, the user.role, user.locale, and user.id. I can see the user.role and user.locale being populated but user.id is not. Any reason this might be?
//Capture User Role
ga('send', 'event', 'Help Center', 'User', {
'dimension1': HelpCenter.user.role,
'dimension2': HelpCenter.user.locale,
'dimension3': HelpCenter.user.id,
nonInteraction: true
It looks like the reason that HelpCenter.user.id does not work is because it is not available in the javascript object.
I can see that the HelpCenter.user.identifier is available but this seems like it might be some sort of a hashed id value. Is there any documentation anywhere that I can refer to to understand how this value is hashed to decrypt this value into my user ids?


text:
Design was selected from College of Architecture and Environmental Design's 2012 MATr PROJECT
Student designers do not always have their designed projects come to life. But for Kent State College of Architecture and Environmental Design graduate students Zachary Hoyt and Siaraa Abulhamayel, their sculpture project has now become a reality. Their project,The Embrace, a 10-foot-tall sculpture has been installed between Taylor Hall, the Gym Annex and Johnson Hall.
The College of Architecture and Environmental Design Lecture Committee, led by Committee Chair Kathryn Strand, held its second annual MATr PROJECT, which supports the conceptualization and actualization of innovative and experimental material research through full-scale making within the college. The project encourages the exploration of instances of correspondence between the material and immaterial, the real and abstract and the ephemeral and particular.
When a project is selected, the student receives $2,500 to cover costs of materials and installation, and the project is installed on the Kent Campus during the Fall 2012 Semester.
Hoyt and Abulhamayel, along with their advisor, Professor Frederick Lucak, designed the sculpture.
"The 10-foot-tall conceptualized structure is an exhibition of the most expressive human gesture: 'the embrace,'" says Abulhamayel. "The Embrace celebrates the coalescence between contradictory ideas manifesting in a realization that poetically entwines divergent themes."
Hoyt continues, "The abstracted human figure balances the symbiotic relationship between the tangible and abstract while displaying the correspondence of the envelope condition to the structural members. It is a public experience of enclosure versus openness, organic versus geometric and soft versus mechanical."
The Embrace design team is excited to see the design actualized and credits the success to teamwork.
"Undoubtedly this experience was invaluable," says Hoyt. "There aren't many opportunities to work in a team within the architecture curriculum. However, the real world is the complete opposite. This project helps to foster and showcase the benefit of collaboration and teamwork."
Although this project was a part of a competition, Hoyt believes that the process helped him experience more than just success in seeing their design come to life.
"Another life lesson involved the realization that manifesting our intricate architectural designs can be a process of compromise and discovery," says Hoyt. "Project constraints of economy, capability and schedule all combine to extend the design process, continually shaping the initial concept.
"The ability to maintain flexibility is a necessary component of creation that must be equally tempered with the unwavering pursuit of an idealized vision," Hoyt adds. "The juxtaposition of these two extremes can be an integral catalyst for successful design."
Abulhamayel says that the wide range of architectural applications these days is inordinate.
"The Embrace is a great demonstration of multiple students' capabilities. This project is one way to communicate architecture students' aptitudes to the public," she says.
For more information about the sculpture, contact Hoyt at firstname.lastname@example.com or Abulhamayel at firstname.lastname@example.com.